International Business Opportunities

After just lowering prices weeks ago, Lufthansa Cargo announced yesterday that it was raising its fuel surcharge for cargo flights in response to rising crude oil prices.

Lufthansa Cargo said it would raise the rates from 0.50 to 0.55 euro per kilo for cargo, starting from May 1.

International courier UPS will construct a transport hub in the eastern city of Shanghai, linking China to its global network.
The hub, to open next year, will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing for later pickup times in Shanghai, China’s financial and commercial centre, according to company. […]

Capacity will be ramped up further by the use of Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft instead of the smaller MD-11 jets currently in use. […]

“The UPS International Air Hub will connect China to international markets faster and more efficiently,” Ken Torok, president of UPS Asia-Pacific, said at a signing ceremony. […] The 96,000-square metre hub is now under construction at the city’s main Pudong International Airport, which is itself undergoing a major expansion to allow it to handle 60 million passengers and 4.2 million tonnes of cargo annually by the end of this year. (Source)

The raise of the costs to keep the Malacca Strait open and safe, may have as a consequence that shipping vessels could soon have to pay a fee to use it.

Littoral states Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up patrols of the Strait in response to a surge of concern over incidents of piracy that prompted London insurers Lloyds to list the region as a war-risk zone, boosting premiums [..]
The 900-km-long Malacca Straits links Asia with the Middle East and Europe, carrying about 40 percent of the world’s trade, including 80 percent of the energy supplies of Japan and China.

(source:Reuters)

A support to the proposal, from the International Maritime Organisation, a United Nations agency charged with safeguarding international shipping that groups 166 nations, will be crucial to set up a fee for Malacca strait’s users.